§ We just lost Jay Lynch, and social media has been confused as to whether another underground legend, Skip Williamson, of Snappy Sammy Smoot fame, has left us as well. It seems he’sin some kind of medically induced coma but still hanging in there. So think good thoughts. Comics Reporter has a fuller report.

“In fifth grade, I fell in love with comic books, and I fell in love with comic books because of this issue,” he said, showing a picture of a “Thing and Rom” comic book, which featured two characters in one issue. His mother wouldn’t buy that comic book for him because it was too scary, he said. Instead, he wound up with the latest Superman comic. And while he later became a big Superman fan and even worked on Superman stories, he felt differently then, he said. “In fifth grade, I thought out of all the superheroes out there, Superman was by far the most boring,” he said. “He’s the best behaved. He never says any bad words. He doesn’t punch anybody unless he has to, and afterward if he does, he feels kind of guilty about it. He flies around his Metropolis in his blue uniform. He’s like a giant flying boy scout.”

§ The Fantagraphics print collection of Katie Skelly’s My Pretty Vampire has a pub date and a not final cover.

§ I’ve only been to Balboa Park once or twice in all my years of going to San Diego so I’m a little fuzzy on the geography of this, but that Comic-Con display coming to replace a sport hall of fame seems to be happening. This link has all the local nuances explained.

Meanwhile Comic-Con, another San Diego-born institution founded in 1970, will expand from just holding conventions to celebrating superheroes, blockbuster movies and comic books. The nonprofit group will operate permanent museum to be called the Comic-Con Center for Popular Culture with rotating exhibitions — something convention enthusiasts might see as putting down roots.

Taking the Hall of Champions’ place at the Federal Building in Balboa Park will be Comic-Con International which plans to use the facility as the Comic-Con Center for Popular Culture. “Even as we prepare for our sister show WonderCon in Anaheim this month, we are excited to be part of this announcement. The Hall of Champions has our deepest appreciation in helping us to achieve this new chapter in Comic-Con history. This center will provide a year round interactive celebration of the innumerable aspects of popular art,” said a Comic-Con spokesperson.

“My father would be thrilled with this opportunity to move the Breitbard Hall of Fame to Petco Park to usher in the next phase of the Hall of Champions,” said Gayle Klusky, Bob’s daughter and Hall board member. “Dad set out to better San Diego and inspire San Diegans to reach their potential, and this new model will only allow us to more effectively fulfill and advance our mission and perpetuate his legacy.”

Watching Logan, the newest–and possibly final–outing for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, was the first time that I’d truly seen the idea of comics as mythology and human storytelling explored outside of my own head or conversations with friends. The recognition of the power and impact that these stories can have was a revelation for those who I watched it with. We spent hours afterwards discussing the possible ramifications of comics as historical documents and what this would mean in the real world.

“It’s very exciting that these films are getting made, but unfortunately I’ve never seen a Marvel movie because I’m banned from the movie theater for sneaking in outside food. My favorite snack is Stan’s Mega Mix, which is popcorn with mustard on it, and I used to sneak in a Ziploc bag full of Stan’s Mega Mix that I made at home so I wouldn’t have to buy popcorn and mustard at the concession stand. The Loews by my house gave me several warnings to stop bringing in food and eventually banned me for life, so I haven’t seen any movies since 1993.”

It is probably the time crunch that is making those five titles the most possible. They likely have scripts completed or close to it, and many of them already have lead actors in place. Ezra Miller as The Flash has already been seen a couple of times, a direct sequel like Suicide Squad 2 will be utilizing numerous actors from the first film, and Sirens will include Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. Meanwhile, there’s so far been no word on casting for Green Lantern Corps, but if Warners is ready to pull the trigger on that film, then fans might be introduced to their Emerald Knights sooner than expected. The surprise here is Dark Universe (or Justice League Dark), which not too long ago seemed to have been put on the back burner indefinitely. Perhaps Warner Bros. was saving the movie for an occasion such as this.

It seems after the critical drubbing of BvS and Suicide Squad we’re back to square one with WB. Dark Universe has been in development for eons…I seem to recall that Guillermo del Toro was attached at one point, but he’s attached to everything at one point. We certainly don’t want to see WB/DC Films rush into production with awful scripts again, so getting cold feet is understandable. But stilll…comic book movies are still hot hot hot! The TV slate is going great guns, but where have you gone, Geoff Johns? DC Nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

§ No link but it is possible that a content farm site that rhymes with schmovie schmilot ran a big piece on Marvel sales that all but copied a lot of Todd Allen’s writing and charts, as well as other sites. And all we got was a lousy footnote. The internet is hard but you can do better.

Heidi MacDonald is the founder and editor in chief of The Beat. In the past, she worked for Disney, DC Comics, Fox and Publishers Weekly. She can be heard regularly on the More To Come Podcast. She likes coffee, cats and noble struggle.

Related

Comments

Guillermo del Toro was the original drive behind DARK UNIVERSE/JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK, producing and intending to direct the movie. He might have even drafted the screenplay. He dropped out as director, but last I knew he was still a(n) (executive?) producer.